About Us
We're a movement of people from around the world working to support the grassroots efforts of Afghan people in building pro-social structures under enormously challenging circumstances. We are lead by a small group of individuals in North America, Europe, Turkey and Afghanistan who have a shared interest in the well being of the people of Afghanistan.
Our areas of interest are education, peace and social uplift, food security and economic development. Our ultimate hope is to create a model that will directly empower people who are not being adequately served by existing structures due to poor governance, conflict and a lack of development. Our vision is rooted in principles of localism and sustainability. We also know that educated, empowered humans are not only able to solve their own issues, but to contribute to solving the problems of the wider world.
Unfortunately, we are all doing this on a volunteer basis in our “spare” time, so our progress is much slower than the urgency of the situation calls for. If this is a project that you would like to see succeed, please reach out. Our goal is to have a real impact and the more people we have involved and invested, the better our odds of success. In addition to having an obvious need for seed funding, we have a need for help from anyone who would like to participate in building this organization and moving our plans forward. We are currently a registered as a not-for-profit with the state of Minnesota. We hope to obtain our 501c3 designation this fall.
Our Team
Rebecca Trotter
Rebecca is a writer and an experienced activist with a passion for working with the leaders of not-for-profit organizations serving their local communities around the world. Her favorite projects have involved serving marginalized communities in Bangalore India, Faisalabad Pakistan and Portland Oregon. You can learn more about Rebecca at her website The Upside Down World.
Ahmad Reshad Attai
After being forced to flee his home and the charitable school he was director of in Kabul due to his advocacy on behalf of women and girl's education, Mr. Attai and his family settled in Geneva Switzerland. He decided to dedicate himself to the well being, development and education of the people of Afghanistan. In addition to his work with Food For Thought, he is finishing a Master's Degree in Peace and Conflict studies at Geneva Graduate Institute. You can learn more about Mr. Attai at his LinkedIn page.
Professor Thomas Johnson, PhD
Professor Thomas Johnson, PhD is one of the western world's pre-eminent experts on Afghanistan. He is one of the few westerners to have spent time living in rural areas of Afghanistan, starting during the Soviet invasion during the 1980s. He currently Research Professor of the National Security Affairs Department at the Naval Postgraduate School (Monterey, California) as well the Director of the Program for Culture & Conflict Studies. You can learn more about his work on his professional page.
Marzia Sultani
Known inside Afghanistan as Marzia Meena, Marzia Sultani is a prominent Afghan women's rights activist and educator. She has extensive experience providing training and advisory services in civil and economic development affairs, and has conducted research, wrote columns, and hosted debates and radio shows. Among her many awards, she has been honored with a Nobel Peace Prize nomination in 2015 and was the recipient of a Best Work Model Presidential award in 2004 for her work in Afghanistan's constitution writing process. You can learn more about her on her LinkedIn page.
Dr. Adubakar Muttaqi
Dr. Muttaqi is a professor of Sharia and Law who is the founder of the Azhar Higher Education Institute, based in Kabul. He served in the Afghan government and judiciary positions from 2005-2022. He was previously a lecturer at Kabul University and Al-Azhar University in Cairo. Dr. Muttaqi is currently residing in Turkey. You can learn more about him at his LinkedIn page.
Baryalai Bhadur
Mr. Bhadur is our man on the ground inside of Afghanistan. He is a journalist who travels regularly through Afghanistan's northern provinces. Mr. Bhadur is also responsible for administering our food distribution program and is responsible for documenting activities inside the country.
Anthony Mills
Mr. Mills is a computer geek and entreprenuer based in Canada. You can learn more about him at his LinkedIn page.
Jennifer Hill
Ms. Hill is a longtime community educator and activist. She has a Masters Degree in Public Administration. In addition to her work with Food for Thought Afghanistan, Ms. Hill advocates for the wrongly convicted in her "spare" time. Learn more about her at her LinkedIn page.